State Rapid championships

BACKGROUND

The Tasmanian Rapid Championship has been a regular feature of the Calendar since 2014. It is hosted annually by the Devonport Chess Club, with all entry funds returned to the T.C.A. In lieu of cash prizes, the Devonport club donates book prizes for the winners. It also hosts the Devonport Open Lightning tournament on the Saturday night of the Championship.

Championship games are played at the rate of 25 minutes per clock per player per game, with a 10 seconds increment operating from move 1. It has so far always been run as a 7 round Swiss system tournament.

In 2015, Denis McMahon donated a perpetual trophy for the event, and the T.C.A. subsequently accepted his recommendation that it be known as the Bonham Cup, in honour of the inaugural winner of the title. Kevin Bonham won the Bonham Cup for the second time in 2015 - and completed the trifecta in 2016.